About Me

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Hello, My Name is Erwin JaMarkus Coleman. I am from Tuscaloosa, Alabama; attending the University of South Alabama. I inspire to be a Secondary History Teacher. I want to do more than teach, I want to inspire and aid downtrodden humanity to a better path in life. After my undergraduate studies I want to get a Master's in Public Administration to reform education outside the classroom as well.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

C4T Summary Post 3

I commented on Steve Miranda's post Information (from the archives and post was about students having more access to information than ever before. He said "five years from every high school kid will have access". He asked, "will schools still be giving multiple choice, fill-in-the-bubble tests that ask students to recall facts from memory?" Or will they help students decipher information and put it to great use? I commented saying,"Even though more students have more access now than ever before and it still rapidly growing, I think five years from now we will still have multiple-choice test be the basis for teaching. We evaluate a students performance based on test scores and not hands-on activities. Until we can get away from standardized test we can’t get into more hands-on learning."

The second post I commented on was Chris Rock (from the archives). In the post he first talks about how comedian Chris Rock tries out new jokes at a small comedy club with a notepad on stage. As Chris Rock tells his jokes the jokes fall flat and it is painful to watch. While on stage Chris Rock is learning because he is trying to connect with his audience. Steve Miranda says we are doing our kids a disservice by not letting them take risks. Teachers makes failure a bad thing when in reality it is the best way to learn. I commented by saying,"Schools do not teach students how to take risk. Chris Rock knew to be the best he had to take risk. Teachers scare students from being wrong at times but the most effective way to learn something is learn from your mistakes".
Steve Miranda's Blog

Blog Post 10

Do You Teach or Do You Educate



School Hall

When becoming an education major it was a combination of a couple of factors that convinced me this is what I needed to pursue. My first factor was family influence. I am honest when I tell people that my family is not highly educated. Only a handful of the women in my family graduated from high school and I am only the second male in my family to graduate from high school. I was lucky to have a mom who graduated from high school and has her Associates Degree as a Registered Nurse. As I graduated high school and started college I thought about how different my family structure would be if they had a high school diploma and college degree. Most of my relative would not have to struggle for a stable job or go from house to house basically living as nomads in a modern society. They have to constantly depend on others because they do not have the proper education to depend on themselves. The second factor was the thought of so many other kids who is not lucky to have an educated parent. Like I said before I am lucky to have an educated mother but so many children do not have the opportunity to experience this. It is a duty of mines to be more than just a teacher in the classroom and that is where being an educator is the next step in my career. I want to change the world through education and expand my talents outside the classroom. Many students do not get to see a Black professional in the classroom or outside the classroom; I only had three black teachers and they were my best teachers. I want to be an administrator and change the educational gap because if we want to advance as a nation we need all students to be given the opportunity to receive a quality education. One of my ultimate goals is to open a school for lower-income students to receive that quality education.
There is a thin line between teaching and educating in my view. I believe teaching is giving the person the answers and they have no say in if they feel it is right or wrong. There is nothing wrong with that but there is no development in the process, well there is no process because there is one simple solution. As an educator you present multiple ways or directions to an answer. A couple of words I saw in the video above are guide and mentor. As a guide you give them the direction but it is still the students choice to explore and find their way. As a mentor you have the trust of your students. Gaining the trust of your students should be a main priority of an educator. Also in the video it showed the word empower. I will empower my students to hold themselves at a high standard at whatever they do in life. As soon as a student feels empowered they will exceed your expectations and as an educator you will know you did an honest days of work.

Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home

Parent and Child

Tom Johnson uses a story to convey his message in this blog. Gertrude goes in Mr. Johnson's office, telling him she should stop letting his students take home pencils and paper. She said she saw a study that shows students who use pencils at home have lower standardized test scores. Tom was troubled by this and says standardized test does not measure authentic learning. He does realize students in lower income schools do see pencils as entertainment. He notices the problem but he wants a solution. So he talks to parents and students on the ways pencils can be used for learning. Gertrude wondered how does he know if they are using those skills at home and Tom says he does not hold them accountable. He tries to keep them interested in hoping they will continue the learning outside the classroom. He feels the child is learning no matter what they choose to do with the pencils.
I feel Mr. Johnson is letting the students be creative with pencils. He wants to embrace that creativity a student can have with pencils. He also takes it a step further by incorporating the parents in the learning process because he recognizes in many lower-income households the parents job does not require them to use a pencil. He wants the student and parents to learn together and have that autonomy to be creative together. Creativity is a measure of learning that needs to be embraced and not steered away from.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Smart Board Presentation

Blog Post 9

What I've Learned This Year by Mr. McClung
When I saw this blog post assignment I was excited to read Mr. McClung's reflections on his first three years as a teacher. Being an aspiring educator I like reading or watching people talk about their early experiences as a teacher because all teachers feel the same way and go through the same things early in their career. It gives me confidence when teachers say early in their career they had difficult moments; I know we all want to be the perfect teacher when we first start and when we mess up it frustrates us.

Frustrated Teacher

The first post I read was the May 27, 2009 post of What I've Learned This Year . The first thing he learned this year was How to Read the Crowd. He was so worried about being criticized by his superiors he lost touch with his audience, which is the students. He believes teachers miss the most important part of teaching and this is making sure students are understanding the material. The second thing he learned this year was to Be Flexible. Mr. McClung felt he was trying to control things too much because he likes things a particular way. This is understandable, especially when you become an educator because teachers need structure in the classroom. He does not let mistakes stress him out anymore and when he does make a mistake he just tries to make the situation better. Another thing is Communication in the workplace. He experienced some drama with fellow colleagues but he says when you talk about the problem it resolves the issue faster. One the most important things up and coming teachers can learn is to Be Reasonable. Mr. McClung realizes at times educators set high expectations for their students and when the students do not reach it they can get frustrated with the students. There is nothing wrong with setting high expectations but do not crucify the students when they make a mistake. Students will make mistakes so we have to encourage them to strive harder and they can be successful. He also goes on to talk about technology and how it is very useful to educators, he talks about listening to students because students can help you become better teachers. Students are our consumers so when they speak teachers should listen. The last topic he talks about is Never Stop Learning. Teachers must know how to adapt and switch styles of teaching. Educators must grow just how we expect the students to grow.

Teacher at the Chalkboard

The second post I read was at the end of his third year June 23, 2011 of What I've Learned This Year . I chose this one because I know the third year is critical for a teacher. The third year the teacher is qualified for tenure and they are considered "veterans" in the field. The first topic he talks about is Know Who Your Boss Is. He feels he gets consumed in trying to please his supervisor and that can take away focus on the students; Mr. McClung quoted, "Our decision making process should always be student centered and not centered around pleasing adults". The second topic he talked about was Don't Expect Others to be as Excited About Change as You Are. He used Professional Development as an example. He said he has trouble understanding the people who never give new ideas a chance. Mr. McClung is the teacher who gets excited about new ideas being presented during Professional Development. He says do not let the pessimistic teachers detour you from implementing creative ideas to your classroom and school. A lot of educators are stuck in the traditional way of doing things and we as potential educators cannot be scared by those teachers. When we think of innovative ideas we need to at least try it out and not afraid of being different. That goes into the next thing he learned and that is Don't be Afraid to be an Outsider. He admits he does not fit in with the other adults in the building and he is perfectly okay with that, he enjoys it actually. I do not completely agree with wanting to be an outsider and not fit in with the adults. As educators we need to rely and learn from each other. One of the last things Mr. McClung learned is Don't Touch the Keyboard. This means when we are teaching a student something do not do all the work for them. When teachers do all the work for the student the student is not learning. The student needs to make mistakes because making mistakes is a never fail way to learn; Mr.McClung stated, "This means that our students will struggle a little bit in the front end but it will help them excel in the end game". The last thing Mr.McClung learned is Don't Get Comfortable. He feels teaching can become a routine career. Having a routine is not a bad thing but it can develop complacency in a teacher's work. Mr. McClung's way of not being one of those teachers are joining committees and doing Professional Development sessions.
I enjoyed reading Mr. McClung blog post on what he has learned his first three years of teaching. Like I said before it is great to read about a teacher's beginning of their career because we are going to be there soon. We can gain more confidence knowing we are not expected to be the best teacher when we first step in the classroom. I will take some of the things Mr. McClung learned and implement that in my life as a teacher. Whatever I learn as an educator I will make sure I share those experiences with future teachers.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Blog Post 8

Dr. Richard E. Miller Discusses Writing with Multimedia
Part 1
Dr. Richard E. Miller is a professor at Rutgers University in the English Department. He states we are in the greatest changes in our lives. We are able to communicate globally more now than ever before and he suggests we should take advantage of that opportunity. One of our changes is incremental instead of fundamental. Our work space is our desktop meaning we are constantly in connection with the world and we can research the world. Dr. Miller was asked to write about the anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting and he did the all research without stepping foot into a library. Him doing research completely online would be unthinkable ten to fifteen years ago because we were still in the days of the library building and not virtual library. With all the social technology we can now collaborate on projects without even seeing your partner.
Part 2
Dr. Richard E. Miller discusses how the change of technology makes the information more readily accessible. He said, "Ideas belong to us as a culture", he is correct with this statement because when what you publish is not private. He says educators must be in the idea of exchanging information freely. We can produce alternate version of any document with the technology we possess. Dr. Miller believes the only restrictions we have are ones we put on ourselves.

I enjoyed Dr. Richard E. Miller's presentation because he made great points. Our work space is our desktop, we can do entire research without going into a library, and our ideas do belong to our culture. Even though he said we restrict ourselves, I am glad he realized the problem of access to the technology some people obtain but he does see a day when everyone will have it.I am not prepared to write with multimedia but it will be great to learn. Dr. Richard Miller Discusses Writing with Multimedia





Carly Pugh Blog Post
Carly Pugh did a great job on her blog post. By adding links while explaining what her classroom will be like gives the reader a visual of what will make her classroom different. Her own playlist showed diversity and creativity she has. She comes close to Dr. Miller's writing with multimedia because like I said before, she provides links to give a visual of what she is trying to convey.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
This was a great video on how our schools need to accept the fact that our world is changing simultaneously with technology. Teachers continue to teach students the ways during the Industrial Revolution. Most students today would be prepared for the late 19th century but not for the 21st century. We have a great world for learning and conduct research but teachers do not teach in an environment that is healthy for research. The school system is based around standardized test scores and not the quality of learning for creativity. One man called this the "vending machine" approach. Our job market today is looking for employees who are well-rounded and who can think outside the box.

C4T Summary Post 2

I commented on the post "People, People, People" by Teachernz. This post was about about teachers and learners connected to discuss their careers and collaborate to make each other successful in the field of education. This event was held at Epsom Girls Grammar School.
I believe in educators and learners congregating together to improve the quality of education. The only way we can have creativity and innovation is if we put our heads together and think of new methods to teach and learn. I look forward to seeing your posts in the future.

Book Trailer

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Blog Post 7

Randy Pausch Last Lecture
Photo of Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch was born on October 23, 1960 in Baltimore, Maryland. He became a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, where he also received his Ph.D. He learned he had pancreatic cancer in September of 2006 and was given three to six months of good health. Randy Pausch said he is not in denial and not depressed about his condition, "We cannot changed the cards we are dealt but how we play the hand".



ETC Global
Randy Pausch had many dreams, a couple are: playing in the NFL and being an Imagineer. He talks about the brick walls he had encountered in his life but says, "Brick walls let us prove how bad we want things". This makes a lot of sense because if I want to accomplish my dreams then I cannot let an obstacle keep me away from my goal. Dr. Pausch may not have become an NFL player but he learned valuable lessons from his experience in playing football as a child; those lessons are fundamentals and hardwork. Randy Pausch says, " Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you want". Even when you do not fully accomplish your dreams, you always take back with you the time you put in and the experience you gain. He and a colleague of his Don Marinelli created the Entertainment Technology Center for students to be incorporate art and technology. Dr. Pausch is also the founder of Alice, an interactive software that helps students learn computer programming.

Enable the Childhood Dreams of Others
Randy Pausch started a course Carnegie Mellon University titled Building Virtual Worlds. This was a Master's Degree Program and over a semester students worked in groups on several projects to create their own virtual world. Dr. Pausch always pushed the bar for his students, even when he was impressed by their work. His class used no books, it was project based, and he took his class on field trips. He focused on the hands on experience of learning and to work in groups. Every two weeks students received feedback. On thing I think is helpful in his teaching style is the "head fake". He explained the head fake is when someone is taught a deeper meaning while in disguise they are learning something simple. Randy Pausch always liked to have fun so he wanted his students to have fun while creating virtual worlds.

Lessons Learned
Tigger and Eeyore

Randy Pausch learned many life lessons he passed on to his students. Andy von Dam, a mentor of Randy Pausch, told Dr. Pausch he is a great salesman and that he should sale the one thing that is worth selling and that is education. He believes in life you can either be Tigger or Eeyore, meaning you can have fun and enjoy life or you can be depressed about life's obstacles. Dr. Pausch values loyalty because you should never turn your back people. A person should never give up because persistence can take you far in life. I believe in never giving up because once you give up opportunity comes and you missed out in capitalizing. Dr. Randy Pausch died July 25, 2008 from pancreatic cancer but his legacy will forever live on because he has changed so many people's lives and was a true innovator of his time.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Project 10

I started on my PLN and my choice was Symbaloo. I feel Symbaloo is very simple to use and very organized. I chose 14 tiles so far and I plan to expand as times goes on.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

C4K Summary Post

On September 15 I left a comment on Mr. Harris' Room 19 Class Blog. The topic was the Grey Lynn Festival in Auckland, New Zealand. The Grey Lynn Festival celebrates rugby and I did a little research and found out the Rugby World Cup will be in New Zealand this year. I told them rugby is not a popular sport in the United States but we do have a Rugby team at the University of South Alabama.

On September 22 I commented on St. Elmo Explorers Blog. They learned more about the interview process, research skills, and data-analysis skills. They will be using data about Argentina to create word problems. I said, "Using statistics of countries to use as math problems will give the children a chance to explore another country while do math and this is great for a students learning process. Also learning more about the interview process, videography, and professionalism, scholarliness, research skills, and data analysis skills is essential to have because it makes a student very well rounded."

On September 22 in Mr. Capps's class two students did a book interview and made a video for it. The book was on the legendary baseball player Satchel Page. I commented saying I love how they use a book interview to learn history on famous people. This will help them grasp the life of Satchel Page.

Blog Post 6

The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler
The Networked Student will be a student of Connectivism, a theory that learning occurs as a social network of many diverse connections and ties. The student uses many tools to enhance his or her learning experience. The student must engineer his or her own personal learning network and learns how to use valid sites to use. He bookmarks his sites, then goes to others people's bookmarks to find valid sites, and they share the sites he or she has found. The student is able to go to other people's blogs to review post and comment to share their opinion. The Networked Student uses iTunes U to listen to podcast on courses recorded by professors from prestigious schools like Stanford and Yale. Also the student can use Skype to do interviews with experts on his subject area. The student uses his or her blog to connect to student and professionals. The student uses tools like Google Scholar and Delicious to use valid resources to develop their opinion and bookmark website to share with other students. Why does the network student even need a teacher? The teacher teaches him or her how to build the learning network, take advantage of the opportunities presented, guidance, and encouragement.
The Network Student reminds me of all of my classmates in EDM 310. Like Dr. Strange says, we are leaving an intellectual a trail.A trail of networks to other people so we can converse on different issues and present our opinions while leaving constructive criticism. All of these tools can shape a hands-on learning experience and encourages exploration. My opinion is students learn more when they have to search for the answer because the gratification is never forgotten. The idea of using a video interview of the direct source on a certain topic is a great experience for the class because this give them the opportunity to ask direct questions to an expert. We have to connect our students to the world because students do not need limited knowledge. Students in today's classroom are being taught with blinders on, meaning, the students are only being taught what is in front of them in a textbook and not being encouraged to use outside sources to find information. Students can learn a lot from each other using these networks and blogs to voice opinions to each other.
Global Learning


I will be prepared for a networked student because I want my student to explore for the answers they are seeking. I like to go on websites to help me study for tests because the textbook only tell you so little. I like to know more than what the textbook tells me so I want my future students to use valid websites to further their knowledge.This is the video to the Networked Student. Like I have always said, until we can get every child a computer in the classroom the networked student is theoretical and not yet practical.




Wendy Drexler will have some challenges in her experience with the networked student research she is doing. She has to find a teacher who is willing to invest in the time she is investing to make this a successful experience for both of them. If the teacher is not doing what is necessary on their end then the networked student will be disconnected. Both Wendy and the teacher must convince the students this will be a journey that will prepare them for the future and be overall enjoyable. The challenge with giving students a choice of topics is that the school curriculum in public schools are not based on student choice. Teachers must create his or her lesson plan around the standardized test students must pass. Also, Wendy may have a few students who are going to use this opportunity to do everything on the computer except concentrate on school related work but Wendy and more importantly the teacher must do whatever to monitor this behavior. You can go to Wendy Drexler's Blog

The Networked Student

A 7th Graders Personal Learning Environment (or PLN)



I think it is great for a student to start early how to use a Personal Learning Environment because this will put them at an advantage to their peers. After watching this video I went to the Symbaloo Website and I think it is very resourceful for a student and professional to use. Everything she needed was a click away on one of her tiles. Her PLN was packed with useful information and she could look at the teacher's agenda for the day to keep her ahead in the classroom. You can find out how to use Symbaloo with this Symbaloo Instruction.

Project 8 Podcast